the district just won't leave us alone

When we decided to pull Drew out of school and seek alternative education placement we found Spiral Academy.  A friend who had to go the home school route recommended it.  It is a perfect fit for us.  It is a private online  school that has little oversight in how we choose to homeschool.

Friday as Drew and I were driving home from running errands my cell phone rang.  I answered it (thru the car bluetooth) It was the school district informing me that I had not filed the proper paperwork to home school Drew and he was being considered truant.  I told them he attended a private school for homeschoolers and I had filed the proper paperwork with the district on April 1 when I removed him.  I asked why they thought we were home schooling.  They didn't answer that.  I suggested they contact his previous school and ask where the paperwork was.  Per Colorado LAW since we pulled him out and enrolled him in a private school we did not need to file a 14 day intent to homeschool letter.

The truant office told me they didn't recognize the school in question and since they didn't we were breaking the law. The school is registred with the state so it doesn't matter if the district recognizes them or not.  The STATE does.  

Drew was hearing this conversation because it was thru the car and he got very upset thinking the district was going to make him go back.  That broke my heart.

I got home and called the director of Spiral Academy.  She had never heard of this and tried to call the truant office to discuss it  but of course they had left for the day.  She said the district never requested Drew's records which she thought was strange.  She also told me the district we lived in was one of the worst when it came to homeschooling and would try to exert their force on us.  

It is just one more instance where the district acts as a bully. I haven't heard yet today if the director of Spiral Academy and the truant office have touched base but I know I am in compliance and I honestly suspect that certain someones are behind this but we have no proof.  So we move forward and wait to see what happens but Drew won't be going back.  PERIOD

Spelling You See

Drew hates spelling.  The idea of memorizing a list of words is TORTURE to him. My friend Shecki writes a blog about homeschooling her kids.  She has homeschooled for many many years.  She knows every kid is different and adjusts her lessons to fit each of her kids.


She did a blog post about Spelling You See and how it was working for her kids.  I talked to her about it and decided to at least try the sample lesson online with Drew.  We had a huge hit on our hands.

It doesn't give lists of words. The child concentrates on a paragraph for the week. I read it to him, he reads it to me then he has to find a letter combination for all the words in the paragraph.  Drew then copies snippets of the paragraph the first three days.  Day 4 and 5 he does dictation.  One of the things about Tourette's, at least in our case is that Drew has problems with short term memory.  Spelling words and then not using them again doesn't work for Drew.  This builds each week on past lessons so he uses some of the same words but at the same time builds his vocabulary.

For Drew there is no monotony of doing the same thing over and over.  The lesson takes about 10 minutes. Then we can move on. I only wish math was this easy.

This is about a program I purchased my self and received no compensation or free items for my opinion

trying to reach Ellen

We are trying to reach ELLEN.  Drew wants to get the word out during National TS Awareness month about Tourette's and how it effects kids and adults.  He wants her to tell the world that there is no cure.  It can get better.  He wants her to know there is no REAL treatment.  There are a few things that can be done to lessen the symptoms.  He wants her to know there is no real research being done for a cure.  He wants Ellen to know that Tourette's is not what TV portrays it as.  It is not someone cussing continually. That is Coproillia.  And less than 10 % of the 200,000 people who have TS suffer from this.  He wants her to know it is so much more. It is OCD, Anxiety issues, sensory issues, being tired all the time because a person with TS doesn't stop moving. And you feel you have to hide your tics so you won't bother others. It is being bullied by kids and adults because you think differently and can't always stop what comes from your mouth. It is not being able to stop yourself from doing something you know might hurt because it has to be done. It is sitting my yourself at lunch because kids don't want to sit next to you.  It is playing alone on the swings and kids coming over and calling you names.  it is your parents deciding that you would be better at home for school because it is just to hard to face the bullies everyday.  it is teachers turning the other way and allowing it to happen. It is your mom and dad (and 250 facebook friends of theirs who post encouragement) who know you can finish math homework even when teachers don't.

It is isolating because when adults won't get educated they can't educate kids who call you weird, strange, stupid (because you can't remember things) It is watching people like Henry Winkler, Brad Cohen and Dan Akroyd and others who have had disabilities who have overcome because they give you some hope that someday you will be "normal".  It is listening to Wil Wheaton tell a girl it is OK to be a nerd and like comics because it is what you have to hold on to because your hero is batman. It is being told batman doesn't exist because kids say super hero's aren't real (I know they aren't but they keep me going) It is playing alone with legos because no one will play with  you.  It is hoping that there will be someone who wants to come to  your birthday party, and your parents having to have a back up plan in case no one wants to come.  It is

PER the CDC:

In the United States

• It is not known exactly how many people have Tourette Syndrome (TS). A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study has found that 3 of every 1,000 children 6 through 17 years of age and living in the United States have been diagnosed with TS based on parent report; this represents about 148,000 children. Other studies using different methods have estimated the rate of TS at 6 per 1,000 children.
  
• Among children with TS, 27% have been reported as having moderate or severe forms of the condition.
  
• TS affects people of all racial and ethnic groups.
  
• Males are affected three times more often than females.
  
• A TS diagnosis is twice as likely among non-Hispanic White people than among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black people.
  
• A diagnosis of TS is twice as common among children 12 through 17 years of age as among those 6 through 11 years of age.

Co-Occurring Conditions

• Among children diagnosed with TS, 79% also have been diagnosed with at least one additional mental health, behavioral, or developmental condition, such as:
  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 64%;
  • Behavioral or conduct problems, 43%;
  • Anxiety problems, 40%;
  • Depression, 36%; and
  • Developmental delay affecting his or her ability to learn, 28%.
    
• More than one-third of people with TS also have obsessive-compulsive disorder.2,3

No one knows what TS is and Ellen you could shine a national spotlight on this. No one talks about this and we need your help to get the word out!  It is someone like you who says be kind to each other every day who can show the world that we are just like everyone one else.

Sincerely,

Drew Anderson and his mom!

WE ARE BACK!

AND WE ARE BACK!!!!!! It has been a bumpy year!

When we left we were in the process of transitioning Drew out of a wrong placement in our school district in Colorado to a mainstream placement at his home school.  We had high hopes.  We had a great working relationship with the principal, Drew had toured the school and met some kids.  Things were looking up.

FAST FORWARD to this year.  Let's just say it was an ugly year.  There was a new principal (the former one was promoted because he was awesome) who refused to understand Tourette's and the comorbids. She would not follow thru on anything the former principal has promised us even though she was in on the transition meeting) She saw Drew's Tourette's as behaviors not part  of a neurological condition. By spring break he had been suspended  9 days total for tics that she saw as behavioral.  We had offered to bring in a TS specialist to talk to them.  Nope they knew everything.  After all, they are the biggest school district in Colorado. Don't get me wrong there were some good teacher's who cared a great deal about Drew but we think their hands were tied as to how they could help him due to administration at the school and district level.  That is what we think but we have no proof.

We have moved back to home schooling as of this week.  It is a bit rocky but I think in the long run it will be the best thing for our family.  Procrastination is Drew's middle name.  Common Core is not his friend (or mine)

I am hoping to find curriculum that will be more TS friendly that I can talk about as we go along.  I have found a great spelling curriculum that I will talk about in the next week.

Drew appears to be happier to be back at home.  He is free to tic and we are seeing more of them during the day.  He is sleeping better. His frustration ebbs and wanes depending on what we are working on.  His appetite has improved. So those are all good things.

So dear readers.  Here we go.  Homeschooling a kid with Tourette's.  This will be fun! I promise.

first day

Today was the first day back to a homeschool regieme.  We are still working with the school to get the Home and Hospital teacher worked out.  i didnt' want to let Drew go with out schooling until this was worked out so off we went.  First up.  Computer work on Synonyms.  then some math review.  Then a BREAK.  We are using Time4Learning.com.  I will be doing a review of it in the next couple weeks.  It has some great points and a few things i am not too keen on.  We headed to trader Joe's and to grab some lunch.  While we were driving I asked Drew if he was all right with returning to doing school at home.  He said if it kept him from being hit and teased about his Tourette's he was all for it. WE came home and he read me Henry and Mudge get the Cold Shivers and then i introduced him to a long term project.

He loves Pokemon.  So I  have him designing his own card game.  He has to come up with the characters, their weapons, powers, who can battle who etc.  He seems to like the activity.  The main thing this time around is that I know now to keep it interesting and change up the activites so Drew does not get frustrated or bored.

can't say much but

Because of reasons that be disclosed we have gone back to homeschooling Drew. For the time being the district will be sending a teacher to the house but last time that was a mitigated disaster. So I have decided that I am going to start working with him to get him caught up.

This is the only way we know to keep him safe.  His tics have already become manageable and he is not having the anxiety issues.  He is sleeping better since his doctors made the decision to "home and hospital" till the end of the year.

When I was questioning a couple weeks ago he could not tell me what a synonym or an antonym were. HE can't identify a noun, verb or adjective in a sentence.  These were things that he COULD do before he went to public school but since it is not reinforced it is gone.  They say he is working a third grade level but he can't write a paragraph, no papers come home from school or academic progress reports other than his report card.  I find it hard to believe he has an A+ in science when he has never brought anything science related home or even talked about science class.

I will let the H&H teacher come to the house because I have to but it is going to be really interesting.  We are looking at all options for next year.

time 4 learning

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been given the opportunity to review their program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. For more information, check out their standards-based curriculum or learn how to write your owncurriculum review.

stay tuned

weekend

Thursday Andrew and I made our trek to San Francisco to meet his Tourettes doctor.  It was an adventure to say the least (the VERY least) But I am happy to report that we made it home.  I get to fight a 100.00 fine I got because I thought the stupid MUNI subway read both of our tickets but apparently it only read Drew's.  When you get off the subway during busy times there are cops waiting to ensure you didn't ride for free.  I didn't ride for free but their stupid machine shows I did.  HUMPH.  Now I get to ride a letter explaining what happened and hope that they waive my fine.

This Doctor does not see the Asperger's in Drew.  so back to square one there.

We get to do it again this Thursday.  Yippee. Yesterday we had a great day.  In the morning we met with CHILL - our home school group and learned about wind and made kites and listened to stories about wind.  While all this was going on  my phone was sending alerts about the real power of the wind in the way of tornadoes that were ravishing the south.  Wish we could have taught about that.  Then home we went.

Last night we went to see The Lorax.  Wonderful movie.  I can't believe it was never on the read list to Drew.  We read so many other Dr. Suess books but not that one.  Bad Mom.  But I will be rectifying that soon.

Today drew is enjoying some down time watching movies while Scott is out for his ride.  ME?  I am supposed to be doing my final Statistics paper for my class.  That is a blog post unto itself.  And I will be so glad when it is over this week.  Scott is also going to the National Homemade Bike show this today.  Not sure what that is but I am skipping it.

I did get my grocery shopping done this morning.  I love that Bel Air allows me to place my order online.  They pick the groceries and when I get there I push a button tell them I am there and they bring the groceries to my car.  Can't get much simpler than that.

I am also preparing for the IEP meeting we have Monday.  Yet another blog post.  Drew does see an audiologist Monday afternoon.  There are several docs waiting to see those results.  I have to make sure I take all the information to the appt. so the results get sent.

So here I sit at my computer doing everything possible to avoid writing my paper.

homeschool

Bet you didn't think I would be writing about this topic again for a long long time did you? On the way to school this morning Drew told me we needed to talk. GREAT I thought not knowing what was going to come through that little mouth. He asked when he could go back to home school. You see, he explained he is bored. The things they are doing in his class he has already done. In fact, He has lost some of the skills I taught him about writing paragraphs because those aren't topics until third grade and giving presentations (like we do for International day) is not even broached until 5th grade.

Drew asked if I could supplement what was going on in school with some things at home. He misses ancient history. So I am frantically searching for copies of Surley English grade 2 and 3 as well as Teaching Textbook unit3. He also wants to find Story of the World and our Bible pack and start those again. HE told me this way he would have the best of both worlds.

I did tell him we would not revisit homeschooling on a permanent basis until he was ready for 4th grade or until his therapists felt he was ready to handle it again. I would give anything to start now but I want him to be a little more ready to understand and handle it.

So now Drew is a schooled/homeschooled kid.

SKOOL

I am a homeschool mom. I say it loud and proud. The past 2 years being home and schooling Drew have been remarkable. I have learned a lot. I also learned a lot today.

When I picked up Andrew from school his teacher escorted him to the car. I am thinking "GREAT! is the real Drew finally coming through?" Having a teacher walk your kid to the car is not something you want.

Instead, Mr. Weidel walked to my side of the car and showed me a note that Andrew had slipped to him. All it said was " i licke skool" It spoke volumes.

I have defended home school for the past 2 years and I honestly feel it is the best education most kids can get. But there are exceptions. Drew being one of them. He loves the structure of school. He loves the socialization of school. I will continue to be a home school mom at heart but for now Drew is where he wants and needs to be. I want him to love learning and for him school is where it happens best.

Saturday Morning

Well it is Saturday morning. Again. Scott and his friends are on a re-con ride getting ready for the GranFondo which is coming up in a few weeks. I am staring at a mound of laundry. But instead I think Drew and I will go get lunch and go to the library. And Skippy needs his nails cut, and the car needs washed, and I am sure I can find 10 other things to do besides the laundry. But it will be waiting for me no matter what. So I will get it started.

We are getting ready to start our next section of ancient history. We will be spending a month or so studying Ancient Egypt. I have some fun stuff planned. We are going to mummify a chicken. I will take pictures to help document this one.

CHILL has started up again. Yesterday was like the first day of school for our homeschoolers. There was such excitement in the air as everyone gathered. New students, old students, new and old moms - all with the mission of giving their kids one more outlet for learning. Drew is taking Spanish, Nutrition and Getting ready for Fort Ross. That is several posts in itself so stay tuned for our living/learning time at Ft. Ross. I am teaching ASL. I have a great group of kids. My co teacher is such a great funny lady she should be the head teacher because she can keep their attention better than me. But together we make a GREAT team. I swear if I could I would get her on Last Comic Standing. She would walk away with it all.

IF I had my way Drew and I would be spending the day at Disneyland. Too bad it is a 6 hour car trip. I wish it was closer. I would never get laundry done. I tried to convince Scott we needed to go again for Halloween but I was informed that Christmas in Florida was enough. HUMPH.

We are headed camping next weekend with our CHILL group. We are going to the sand dunes of Bodega Bay. The weather is supposed to be good. LASt camping trip of the year. We need to start thinking about where we want to go next summer so we can get it booked. People start booking campsites in February for the summer. So I need to pin Scott down on where we are going. WHAT AM I SAYING????? No one would believe I enjoy camping now. There is something totally different about camping in California.

well the laundry waits and drew is STARVING.

FTPD

C

Unit Studies

I think I may be getting the hang of this. This school year, so far is much better than the last. We are having fun. I am not nearly as uptight. I see lots of progress being made.

I attended a class a few weeks ago on unit studies. This used to be how school was taught. Most of the subjects were incorporated around a topic (writing, history, science, art, English). So I decided this year I would try my hand at using unit studies to teach Drew about the ancient civilizations. We just finished Mesopotamia and will start Ancient Egypt next week. When I was 8 I had no clue what the Fertile Crescent was let alone it was bordered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Drew does and he can explain what a shaduf is and how it works. We learned that the Mesopotamians invented the wheel as well as the flush toilet (I thank them for both). We have learned about Cuniform and ziggurats. We have drawn pictures, colored maps, made puppets, discussed agriculture, roles of men and women. The list goes on. It has been LOADS of fun for both of us.

Today he started asking about where Dracula came from as well as Frankenstein, werewolves, why mummies were supposed to be scary. He already has Halloween on his mind. So it hit me. I home school! I can teach what I want! If it excites Drew then let's learn about it. We are going to take about 2 weeks close to Halloween and do a unit study on the myths and legends of Halloween.

We have the big trip in December that he doesn't know about. So, why not do a unit study on the life of Walt Disney and his vision? I actually have unit studies planned for the next 5 months. Maybe this will be one way to keep school going year round. In the summer we just do a couple unit studies.

We still do math and spelling most days but we have so much fun with these studies it is hard to get the other stuff in like we need to.

I found this video the other day and it sums up homeschooling so well. I was terrified at the beginning but my home school friends have helped so much. I have learned that every day there are opportunities to learn that don't involve a classroom. We embrace learning in a totally different hands on way. We now go camping, play dates, park days, museums, field trips to all sorts of places. We are going to Monterey Aquarium in November, Fort Ross in April. Drew will be taking Spanish, nutrition this semester with our local co-op. He is also taking a year long class to get us ready for Fort Ross and when we get back he will have to make a presentation board about what he learned. He has already picked his country for our International day.

I get really irritated at our pastors wife. She is a teacher and every time she sees Drew she asks him math questions, spelling questions, English (noun verb) questions. She is continually tell me that he is behind. UMM...NO he is not behind, he is where he needs to be for him. How may second graders do you know who can point to the Tigris River on a map and explain that is now an area in conflict? The math and spelling will come - heck Phil can't spell and he is about to graduate from college.

I guess what I am trying to say (getting off my soap box) is that while home school is not for everyone. For us it has been the best thing we CHOSE to do.

back again

The past few weeks have been HELL. I have been in pure survival mode. The docs tried Drew on a new med. It was causing rages every couple hours. It was crazy. Even he didn't understand. We couldn't get school work done. It was taking 2 hours to do 14 math problems. I was so ready to chuck everything in and send him back to school and make it their problem. I hated being around my son and I hated myself for it. How could I not like being around my son. He was saying totally hateful things and I didn't know where to turn.

Monday I called his neurologist and told them we had to take him off the Depakote because it was going to be me or him. They got me an emergency appt for Tuesday afternoon. I didn't give him his Depakote on Tuesday because Scott was out of town and I knew I could't take it.

When we got to the appt. Dr. Rainia came to the waiting room personally to get him. We went into a conference room with 2 med students. We reviewed Drew's history and Dr. Rainia noted that all the meds we tried had had the opposite effect. Respirdal caused depression (it is a anti depressent) Abilify was to improve the Tourette's - it made it worse.

He went on to explain to the med students that with kids like Drew who had the opposite effect on meds that they had to think outside the box. He explained to all of us that by accident he had discovered a drug for Parkinson's and Restless leg Syndrome that worked in about 50% of kids. Was I willing to try. HELL YES!!!! I knew I couldn't take anymore of what had been going on.

Drew took his first dose Tuesday night. Wed he got up and got dressed, did 3 hours worth of school work without fight. Went on a play date and there were no arguments the whole time. CAme home ate dinner, took his bath, never balked or fought back when told no. NO rages . he was amazing. took another dose last night. same thing today. Did his work (it was a short day because of getting ready to camping this weekend) didn't get upset when he made a mistake on his spelling test. He caught hte mistake and corrected it. He didn't get upset when he only got a 99 because he forgot the E on "have" in his dictation. he even took out the recycling with out being asked!!!! He even told me he loved me. I haven't heard that in a long time.

He has been pretty hyper but I am not sure if that is because now that his mind is clear so much is racing that he can't keep up or because we haven't started the daytime dose - that starts tomorrow in addition to the night time dose.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But if this works, I will be eternally grateful. The past 2 days have been amazing. I hope they keep up. I will keep you posted.

got off track

So last week was an iffy week in the HS world. We started off on a great note. Then things went South. Way South. Drew's Tourette's was in full swing. Even with the meds. Waiting to hear from the docs. We did finish our unit on sharks. YEA!!!! We did spend Friday at Discovery Kingdom. That was a great day. Still had some major twitching and Drew is showing some new tics. He is becoming aware of them and is becoming frustrated he can't control what is going on.

I haven't worried too much about not being in school full swing since it technically doesn't start until Monday. Still doing daily reviews. Only thing I don't like about South Sutter is that they don't order books until school officially starts. So that means we don't get curriculum for a couple weeks and I am having to supplement until then. Lately been working on vowels. He can recite them and sorta gets the difference but we shall see what this week brings.

I am looking to start writing articles on homeschooling. I have found that while there is lots of info out there not much pertains to those starting out. All the articles assume the reader has knowledge of how it all works. Guess what most don't. Everything I have learned has been by trial and error or by lots of research or time on the phone. I want to start sharing what I have learned and help those just starting out not fall in to the same pitfalls I have or just share the home schooling adventure with others. The budget issues in CA are forcing more and more families to HS and I would like to be a source they can turn to for easy reading and to know there are people out there who understand their journey as well. Our journey has been difficult but I have tried to deal with it in a humerous way that I would like to share.

Phil starts school in a week. He is back in the fraternity house. Not sure if I mentioned the alum board bougt a new house. The old KAT house. I guess the guys love it. I like the fact he is not living in a fire trap anymore. He is not happy about having a roommate. First time in 20 years he has had to share a room with someone. This could get interesting. He is glad to be out of Mike's house. Away from Hunter. I am glad they had the summer to build some sort of a relationship. I think now that Phil is out of there it will continue to grow. But Phil did see why I left Mike all those years ago.

I realized over the past few months I havne't been ending my posts like days of old so....
Faith Trust and Pixie Dust to all my readers

Cathy

better alternaitive

after more research we have finally figured it out. There is a charter called South Sutter. It has the most hands off approach to HS. I have to meet with an educational specialist once a month. but other than that I am free to teach how and what I want. PLUS we get a 1800.00 a year stipend to spend on what we sit fit for his education. cirriculum, lessons, camps, supplies, field trips etc. It is our choice. Definetly the way to go. It has the best reviews of all the charters in the area. So it is the way we are going.

Learned a lot today

I spent the majority of the day researching our home school options for Drew. I found a great Yahoo group that cleared up lots of misconceptions that I had about the California Virtual School. We won't be under this districts umbrella which for us is a huge bonus. It is free and we only have to report to a teacher once a quarter. There is a place on line where I will record daily attendance. They organize field trips. If we choose to take a vacation we bring Drew's books with us and he does his assignments there. And plays catch up when he gets home if needed.

We work at Drew's pace. If we can ever get an IEP the Virtual School has to follow it as well. We can opt out of standarized testing is we want. If he doesn't quite finish a subject during the year we can finish over the summer or pick up where we left off in the fall.

I have already had several moms contact me about Drew and the problems with the district. I will have a support group locally as well as thru the state.

I feel more comfortable having a teacher to help me if I need it so I don't fee so alone esp during the first year. If later we choose to go it alone then great but I think CAVA will be what we do this year.

I still wonder about the charter school but I don't like the fact we have to meet every 2 weeks to be monitored. That is a HUGE drawback. I will call them tomorrow to see if that is truly the case. The pros with the charter are there is a stipend for activites for Drew, and the language arts and math are the same that he uses now.

So that is where it stands.

Changes are a coming

After the latest problems with the school district we have made a decision. We are going to home school Andrew. The district has violated any trust I had with them. I will always be wondering what they might be up to next. And IF we were to ever get an IEP we would have to fight for everything and I worry that the districts disdain for me will have repercussions for Andrew. His teacher told me she has been told no child will get an IEP before 3rd grade. Forget the fact that early intervention in most developmental and learning disablites are better served in the early years they just won't do it.

We have filed a complaint with the California Board of Education on the violations. But who knows what that will get us.

We have several ways to home school. We could do virtual school, which would be free but that still puts us under the districts umbrella and we have to follow their rules, regulations, testing and calendar. I guess I am becoming a rebel in my old age. The schools don't believe in Life Lessons so we can't go on field trips etc.

I think the option we are seriously looking at is a program K12. It is what the district uses BUT we pay for the program and can make our own rules as to hours, days, field trips etc. We just have to file an afidavit with the state in October and then we are on our own. We are going to start easing into it in July and go full steam ahead in Mid August. when we get back from Kansas we will be getting together with a couple differnet home school groups to find one we jive with. Drew has several friends from church who are home schooled and so he seems to understand the concept.

My biggest concern is keeping him socialized as much as possible. He thrives on it. So it means outings wiht homeschool groups, karate, swimming etc. But I am very excited about the idea. I feel a certain freedom with his schooling that I haven't before.

Here we go.